Revamped!

[I'm back and with a new arc. I'm not even done with exams but I finished writing this arc last night. (I honestly cannot study biology and this story is much more important.) And I know you all were excited and needed an update.

This arc was hard to name (the previous names for this were way worse, by the way) and write. During a chapter close to the end, I bawled. Some of its plot points hit right at home and I'll explain along the way.

Anyways, this arc is Kai's and a lot of you guessed that.]

Kai-nd of a Legacy: Part One

Kai sits in class, resting his head on his prepped-up arm as the slides on the slideshow change. His teacher's words go in one ear and out the next but stop when a familiar one is repeated at a growing volume.

"Kai!"

Kai snaps back into reality and sees his teacher and all his classmates staring at him. He's embarrassed only because it seems as if he has been called for at least five minutes and just tuned in. He looks at his teacher and mumbles an awkward apology as he straightens his back in his seat.

"You've been called down to the office," his teacher tells him. "They said to bring all your stuff since you're being signed out."

Kai nods as he quietly closes his books and puts them in his bag. The classroom is stark silent as he exits the classroom. As Kai walks towards his locker, he wonders why he would be signed out of class since he has no appointments of any kind scheduled for today. When he turns to enter his locker combination, he realizes that he passed his locker and has to shuffle back.

Sometimes, his thoughts literally remove him from reality.

Kai's been off of his game lately ever since his father said that he would resign from being mayor soon. Then, Cinder became his girlfriend later that day after Winter's missing boyfriend showed up. Essentially, his life changed so much so fast.

Kai grabs his jacket from his locker and walks to the main office. He expects to see his dad there signing him out, but instead sees Konn Torin (or simply Torin), his dad's always serious, always regal assistant and their family friend. Ever since Kai's mom died, Torin has been Kai's second guardian for school purposes, especially since his dad's always busy.

This worries Kai even more, especially since Torin hasn't made eye contact with or smiled at him ever since he walked in. He didn't even get a text or call. He didn't leave between classes or at the end of the day. Torin takes Kai and escorts him out of the school towards his car. Once the car starts driving, Kai's questions just pour out all at once.

"Where are we going?" Kai starts. "Where's my dad? Why are you here?"

Torin takes a quick breath. "We're heading to the hospital."

Kai freezes for a second at the sound of those words. "Why? Is my dad okay?"

"Your father just collapsed at work. One minute, we were talking and the next, he was coughing and spitting blood."

"Blood?!"

-o-

Kai was numb even before they reached the hospital. Torin had to guide him through the crowded sectors of the emergency room where the smell of antiseptic the sound of whirring machines and doctors talking blinded his senses. Torin placed Kai next to his father where he sat and didn't react in any way.

Kai's father, Mayor Rikan of Commonwealth, was still conscious which gave Kai a glimmer of hope. His dad is alive, he's fine, everything will be okay.

It wasn't until a doctor came in and asked Kai for his father's medications. Kai nods and reaches over for his father's briefcase to take them out. He's known they were there for as long as he can remember. While looking inside, Kai notices that beneath the paperwork is his mother's journal. That's what prompts Kai to start crying. He lost his mother and now he could possibly lose his father.

"I'm terribly sorry, Mayor Rikan," the doctor says, lowering his glasses and the paperwork in his hands. "The sickness has started to spread -"

Kai couldn't listen anymore as he lowered his head and slumped down in his seat. He feels his father's hand on his back and looks back up to face him. All Kai sees in him is the weakness, pain, and defeat; he notes the sadness, fear, and guilt.

Torin exits the room with the doctor as they continue to discuss possible treatment methods, leaving Kai alone with his father.

"I should have told you earlier," Rikan mutters to Kai.

"No," Kai responds weakly, "you shouldn't have and you don't have to feel bad about it either. Guilt is a waste of energy that you have been putting towards making yourself better."

-o-

They got dismissed from the hospital earlier that evening with a new set of prescription medications. Mayor Rikan went to sleep and Kai stayed hidden in his room with only his desk lamp on. He hasn't changed from his school uniform nor has he turned on his phone. There were too many missed calls and messages on it and he wasn't in the mood to explain all that just happened in the past few hours. When he gets back to his friends, they'll understand.

Even he didn't fully understand it but at least he knows why his dad told him that he might step down from being mayor sooner or later.

He hates that he didn't notice sooner. He hates that he didn't ask how his dad was feeling and whatnot. He hates only finding out now when the sickness has spread. At least when this was happening to his mother, they kept him in the dark because he was only a child.

Kai looks on his desk and sees his late mother's journal which was in his father's briefcase and that he might have stolen just for comfort. Photos and videos aside, this was the best keepsake of his mother, Mariko, to exist. They showed her personality and thoughts; her voice could almost be heard as the narrator of her written words. It was almost real for him because she was gone for so long that Kai already forgot the sound of her voice.

Kai's memories of his mother varied: sometimes she would be rolling up pastry dough or putting dishes back in the cupboard, but she was mostly writing in this journal. Either way, she always looked well, lively, with no sign of the disease that took her from him and his father. Kai would always look at his mother's handwriting whenever he could and read the sentences she has written, and because he couldn't bear to feel sadness, he would feel impatient towards the flowery language and penmanship.

Kai opens the journal and feels an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia as the scent of the pages hit him. They smell like tea tree which was always her scent. Now, he can't help but read the first entry his eyes fall onto.

"She was so pleased to hear that I was expecting a little boy since she already had a little girl. Oh, the fantasies that will come true through our children. Through law and possible arrangements, my son and her daughter will be married. It'd be the best fairytale to exist and come true. Every little boy has a sweetheart and I'm almost positive that my son will fall in love with her daughter. They will live happily ever after…"

Kai pauses. His mother arranged or imagined for him to be married to someone else? Did his father know about this? Sure, he still has the right to marry whomever he wants but still, this is intriguing for him. A storm of conflicting emotions sweeps through Kai as he continues reading as much as he can about this mysterious girl in his mother's journal. He has to know as much as he can despite the thought of his girlfriend, Cinder, ringing at the very back of his mind.

It's the only thing that could distract him from worrying about his dad.

[This escalated quickly but coming from experience, it all does happen fast and you're left with nothing but to go with the flow and hope that it all happens your way.]